Students donate hair to cancer patients
國中女生捐長髮助癌友

Wed, Jan 08, 2014 - Page 11

An act of charity can make ushering in the New Year more meaningful. Five female students from Fo Guang Shan Monastery’s Jiun Tou Elementary and Junior High School in Nantou County’s Puli Township donated their beautiful long black hair on New Year’s Day in hopes of helping cancer patients.

The school celebrated its anniversary on New Year’s Day and held a hair donation ceremony, during which seventh grader Chang Man-yuan and ninth graders Wu Yi-ting, Tseng Yu-chun, Lee Yi-chen and Liang Ching-wen each cut off approximately 25cm of hair, which had taken them at least two years to grow. The hair was donated to Changhua Christian Hospital’s A Skin-Slice with Love Foundation to make wigs and hopefully help cancer patients regain self-confidence after losing their hair from undergoing chemotherapy.

For all five of the girls, it was the first time to donate hair to help others. Some of them could not help crying as their hair was being cut. Helping cancer patients is a noble act, and during the event parents and classmates clapped enthusiastically, thanking the five students for their act of kindness.

Among the students, Liang lost her father to cancer. Before her father died he underwent chemotherapy and lost his hair. While reminiscing about the past, she could not help but weep. Liang also remembers how her dad used to say that girls with long hair are the prettiest, which is why she started letting her hair grow long in elementary school and could not bear to cut it.

Liang says that, in recalling the profound pain of losing her father, when she learned of the hair donation event she became determined to participate. In the future, Liang says that she will continue growing her hair out to donate it. Her mom praised her for being so grown-up and thinking of others by loving and caring for them.